Nipple constructions



Oct. 11, 1955 J. A. CLEMENS $720,328

NIPPLE CONSTRUCTIONS 2 she ets-sheet 1 IMIIII INVENTOR.

BY a

ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1955 J. A. CLEMENS 2,720,328

NIPPLE CONSTRUCTIONS Filed Jan. 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent NIPPLE CONSTRUCTIONS John A. Clemens, Providence, R. 1., assignor to Davol Rubber Company, a corporation of Rhode Island Application January 23, 1951, Serial No. 208,048 8 Claims. (Cl. 215-11) The present invention relates to infant feeding devices and has. particular reference to a unit nursing bottle and nipple combination.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle and nipple combination which can be manually set to control and to regulate the feeding.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle .and nipple combination which has a con trollable open vent to the interior of the bottle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle and nipple combination which is readily adjusted to feed at a desired rate.

.With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the, drawings,

- Fig. 1115 an elevation showing the nurser combination of nursing bottle and feeding nipple;

. Fig. 2 is a vertical partial section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred retaining p;

. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred closure disk;

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 2, the parts being positioned for travelling or for storage in a refrigerator;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a preferred nipple construction;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view ofFig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail showing the venting arrangement of parts for the nipple of Fig. 6;,

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail similar to Fig. 8, the parts being shown in partial vent closing relation;

Fig. 10 is a partial detail bottom plan view similar to Fig. 7, the nipple having a modified venting construc Fig. 11 is a similar bottom plan view, the nipple having another modified venting construction;

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail similar to Fig. 8, including the modification of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 isa view similar to Fig. 12, the parts being shown in partial vent closing position; and

Fig. 14 is a partial detail bottom plan view of another modification of the venting construction.

It has been found desirable to provide a nurser combination which is readily assembled for feeding, and which may be quickly assembled and arranged for storage in a refrigerator or for travelling, the parts being designed to permit regulation of the rate of feeding to meet different infant feeding requirements.

To this end, I prefer to utilize a nursing bottle of the medium mouth type which has an externally threaded neck, and I provide a feeding nipple which has an annular base flange adapted to seat on the rim of the bottle and to be retained in place by a retainer cap which threads on the bottle neck to seal the nipple base flange to th bottle rim with regulatable compression.

I further provide the feeding nipple with a novel venting arrangement of the continuously open type, which permits air to flow into the bottle interior during feeding, the parts being designed to control the flow area of the continuously open vent, this being accomplished by a slight threading or unthreading of the retainer cap to change the compression of the nipple flange on the bottle rim, whereby the rate of feed is regulated.

Referring to the drawings, the novel nurser combination 10 includes a nursing bottle 11 of the medium mouth type, and a feeding nipple 12 of novel design which is held on the bottle by a retainer cap 13. The bottle 11 has the usual neck 14 which terminates in a rim 15, and the neck is externally threaded as indicated by the reference numeral 16.

The nipple 12 is of hollow formation, with a generally cylindrical body portion 17 which narrows upwardly into a reduced neck 18, the upper end of the neck being provided with a slightly enlarged feeding tip 19 ofspherical form which has one or more feeding passages 20. The inner wall 21 of the neck is cylindrical, and preferably extends vertically downwardly; the inner wall 22 of the body portion curves upwardly, and then inwardly and downwardly to provide a recess 23 and a depending annular flange 24 in combination with the lower end of the inner wall 21. The outer wall 25 of the body portion curves upwardly and then inwardly to merge with the outer wall 26 of the neck 18, whereby a thickened annular portion 27 of generally triangularcross-section is provided at the junction of the body portion with the nipple neck.

The lower end of the body portion 17 of the nipple is provided with an annular outwardly extending base flange 28, the lower surface 29 of the flange having at least one recess 30 formed therein. As illustrated in Fig. 7 the preferred shape of the recess is generally rectangular, with an inner side 31 adjacent the center opening 32 of the nipple and lateral sides 33, 34, the recess having a thin flexible darn 35 extending between the sides 33, 34 in spaced parallel relation to the inner side 31 of the recess.

An upstanding rib may be provided adjacent one or both of the sides 33, 34 of the recess if desired. The preferred location for the flexible dam 35 is closely adjacent the inner wall 36 of the bottle neck rim when the ice nipple is seated on the bottle neck, whereby a slight gap is provided between the dam and the bottle rim. When the retainer cap is screwed down, see Fig. 9, the nipple base flange is compressed and the gap 37 decreases in size, thus reducing the air vent opening, whereby the volume of air inflow through the continuously open vent is controlledin accordance with the extent of turning of the retainer cap.

The flexible dam illustrated in Fig. 7 extends directly across the recess and is spaced slightly inwardly from the inner surface of the bottle rim. Since a straight dam resists inflow of air, the dam may be slightly arcuate as illustrated at 38 in Fig 10 to increase the flexibility of the dam, the structure being otherwise the same as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. This construction provides a greater inflow of air when there is a sharp drop in pres sure within the nursing bottle.

If desired, the flexible dam may be positioned so as to be directly above the upper surface of the bottle rim, see Figs. 11 and 12, wherein the dam 39 depends directly over the bottle rim 15 and is spaced from the bottle rim to provide a vent gap 40. When the retainer cap is screwed down the gap 40 becomes smaller, see Fig. 12, to decrease the height and the size of the venting opening.

When greater flexibility is desired for the darn, it may be inset in an indentation 41 in the upper wall of the nipple recess, to extend downwardly as indicated by the reference numeral 42, see Fig. 13, thus providing a longer and more flexible dam, which decreases and may close the venting. gap 43, see Fig. 14, upon screwing down of the cap. The dam of Figs. 13 and 14 is inclined towards the center and is spaced from the inner surface of the bottle rim to provide a venting gap 43, the angularity of the dam preventing outflow of fluid.

The essential feature of my invention is the provision of a continuously open vent to the bottle interior through the base flange of the nipple, the vent including a flexible element such as a dam which may be adjusted in accordance with turn-ing: movement of the retainer cap. The dam may be verticaland may be positioned over the bottle rim, and may be curved, and may be set in a recess, in accordance with the extent of the desired flexibility.

When the nursing combination is to be prepared for storage or for travelling, the nipple is placed in inverted position on the bottle as shown in Fig. 5, the cap then pressing down to seal the edge of the bottle rim. The central opening 44 of the cap is now closed by a flexible closure plug 45 of rubber or the like, see Fig. 5. The cap opening has an elevated inwardly directed flange 46, and the closure'plug has a rounded lower surface 47 to snap past the flange 46, and an annular recess 48 to receive the flange 46, as shown in Fig. 5.

The nipple construction described, although primarily designed for use with a medium mouth type nursing bottle, may be used with standard narrow mouth nursing bottles, as the rim of the narrow mouth bottle will seat snugly in the nipple body between the recess 23 and an annular inner rib 49, see Fig. 6, with the flange or lip 24 pressing against the inside of the bottle rim.

Although I have described and illustrated specific constructional embodiments of my invention, the size, shape and arrangement of the parts may be varied and changed to meet diiferent nurser combination requirements, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a bottle having a threaded annular rim and a threaded retainer cap, a feeding nipple of resilient material comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, and a flexible dam extending across said recess intermediate the ends thereof in spaced relation to the bottle rim.

2. In combination with a bottle having a threaded annular rim and a threaded retainer cap, a feeding nippleof resilient materialcomprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, and a flexible arcuate dam extending across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

3. In combination with a bottle having a threaded annular rim and a threaded retainer cap, a feeding nipple of resilient material comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower 4. end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, said recess having an indentation in its upper wall, and a flexible dam extending downwardly from said indentation and across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

4. In combination with a bottle having a threaded annular rim and a threaded retainer cap, a feeding nipple of resilient material comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, said recess having an indentation in its upper wall, and a flexible arcuate dam extending downwardly from said indentation and across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

5. A feeding nipple of resilient material for mounting on a bottle rim, comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, and a flexible dam extending across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

6. A- feeding nipple of resilient material for mounting on a bottle rim, comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, and a flexible arcuate dam extending across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

7. A feeding nipple of resilient material for mounting on a bottle rim, comprising a hollow body having a reduced neck and a slightly enlarged feeding tip, and an outwardly extending annular base flange at the lower end of the body adapted to seat on the bottle rim, said base flange having a recess in the lower surface thereof extending inwardly to bridge the bottle rim, said recess having an indentation in its upper wall, and a flexible dam ex having an indentation in its upper wall, and a flexible arcuate dam extending downwardly from said indentation and across said recess intermediate the ends thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,573 Ganson Oct. 23, 1945 2,426,927 Ganson an Sept. 2, 1947 2,520,157 Little Aug. 29, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,990' Great Britain Aug. 15, 1902 256,120 Switzerland Feb. 15, 1949 624,266 Great Britain June 1, 19 49 

